Kpoene’ Kofi-Bruce

The founder of a craft focused bridal universe in Chicago now sets her eyes on an heirloom revamping service, Mignonette Reutilisier.

Tell us about yourself and where you are based?

My name is Kpoene’ Kofi-Bruce and I am the Creative Director of Mignonette Bridal and Ette the Wedding Tailor in Chicago, a combined bridal atelier, workroom, and alterations specialist in Chicago. Since 2011 we have specialized in creating romantic, timeless wedding gowns, revamping and modernizing heirloom gowns, and tailoring gowns from other designers.

In 2016 we launched Mignonette Reutilisier, an heirloom-gown revamping service, and for 2022 our newest project is Bricolage, a 100%-upcycled wedding gown collection created from reworked archival pieces and studio offcuts.

What is your craft?

Sewing, Tailoring, Beading, Embroidering, and Applique.

How did your business and brand come to fruition? Can you share some insight into your journey?

I started Mignonette as a ready-to-wear business in 2002, the day after I graduated from Middlebury College and moved to New York. This was the era of the indie designer and the height of the craft fair, especially in Brooklyn, and I jumped right into the small-business scene, eventually forming the Ladies Independent Design League, a collective of other female-identified independent designers. I also started taking classes at FIT, which was invaluable and such a joy.

I moved to San Francisco in 2007 to train as a buyer at Mervyns, eventually moving to Macys before becoming the lead buyer at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art. It was around this time that two formative things happened:  St. Vincent De Paul and the De Young Museum launched Discarded to Divine, a design contest featuring reworked pieces that couldn’t be sold in their thrift shops, and a client asked me to design her wedding gown, utilizing some elements of her grandmother’s wedding dress.

My love of revamping heirloom pieces, and of designing wedding gowns, was born. I started selling wedding versions of my ready-to-wear designs online - mostly short, 60’s-inspired dresses appropriate for a City Hall elopement.

In 2011 I moved from San Francisco to Chicago and opened Mignonette’s flagship brick and mortar in 2012. Daily Candy covered the opening, running a picture featuring our trademark vintage maximalist decor, and things took off from there. Though we have always been a tiny company (I only hired my first full-time employee in 2015), we have always been lucky in that brides seek us out for our aesthetic: flattering, Art Nouveau-inspired gowns featuring layers of lace and embroidery and soft textures that allow for a play of shadow and light.

How many people are employed at Ette Tailor and Mignonette Bridal?

We have 14 employees total.

What is your artisan process? What makes you so good at what you do?

I am a big reader and art lover and collect inspiration from everything I see -- and lately I have been stuck on the Pre Raphaelites, especially the textile designs of May Morris, and the Black British artist’s model Fanny Eaton. May and Fanny have been the inspiration for my last three collections, in fact.

As far as process goes, I usually start with a material and let it tell me where it wants to go. I find that if I set out with a specific design goal it almost always ends up as a disaster, so now I just let the materials speak. This can be hard since I now have a team helping me, but we have found a good balance of  technique and whimsy. I think what makes me good at what I do is that I genuinely love making things beautiful, and I look at each design as a piece of art.

I love working with vintage pieces because I get to see how the previous seamstress sewed her individual quirks into a garment, and I get to add my own chapter to the story of a garment. Working within the restrictions of our available materials for the new Bricolage collection has actually been very freeing - if I cannot simply run out and buy the “perfect” fabric or lace, I have to reframe what I’m trying to do, and that has resulted in some of my most boundary-pushing designs. I also know that I am incredibly lucky to have that kind of creative freedom, and I cherish it.

Any project or new collection that you would like to highlight?

For 2022 we are focusing on our sustainable efforts, Bricolage Studio and Mignonette Reutilisier.  Bricolage  Studio is a capsule edit of one-of-a-kind gowns, handmade with precious lace and silk deadstock from our workroom as well as reworked archival pieces. We’ve dug deep into our files and used up every scrap to offer a zero-waste approach to couture via our trademark chic and effortless style. Rather than collections, gowns will be sold online in ‘drops’ as they are finished, and once a piece is gone, it’s gone!  We hope to be able to offer rental and buy-back options in the future so that each gown can have multiple lives before being reworked again.

Mignonette Reutilisier is our heirloom revamping service - brides can ship or bring in family gowns to be reworked into modern masterpieces. There is something so magical about taking an heirloom gown that has personal meaning and transforming it into a design that reflects the bride’s style, allowing her to put her stamp on something with so much meaning.

What do you think of the state of American Fashion?

I think that American fashion is full of wildly talented, hardworking people who don’t get nearly enough credit or chances, and I wish that our industry had not been allowed to all but disappear. For all of the championing of Made in the USA products I don’t think much has actually been done to keep people manufacturing here, and part of that is due to how far removed we are as consumers from the means of production.  I know efforts are being made, especially around increasing access for small designers, but it is still very frustrating to try and compete with global brands for selling space and attention from buyers. This is why so many brands, including myself, have decided to just stick with DTC for the moment.

The globalization of fashion means that most consumers are so far removed from the process that they cannot conceptualize how hard it is to sew something, and as a result this skill is wildly undervalued and underpriced.  Fast fashion has also had a big hand in making people confused about what something should actually cost. Luckily we are very upfront about educating our clients on what it takes to have the best people working on your gown, whether for a custom piece or for alterations, and our pricing is set accordingly.

How do you define quality?

I believe quality is a result of effort, knowledge, and skill - you cannot produce anything that lasts without experimentation and research.